The song "Alice's Restaurant," traditionally played at noon on some New York radio stations each Thanksgiving, may kick off your holiday. Or maybe you like the sounds that CBS FM or 106.7 Lite FM are cranking out all day. I'm personally a fan of WFUV 90.7 especially for holiday stuff.

We ask Ben Johnson, AWE music critic and desk neighbor in the newsroom as to what his traditional holiday music picks are.

Staten Island Advance/Pamela SilvestriBen Johnson, music reporter for AWE, gives his take on music for the day.

Ben writes:

Ah yes, possibly the most inescapable and often reviled part of the holiday season: The music.

Those of you who do not appreciate themed radio jingles and 85,000 different versions of "Little Drummer Boy" should consider yourselves lucky you are not in my family.

Every Thanksgiving, my jazz pianist and music teacher father requires us to parade our turkey and other random parts of the meal around the outside of the house before sitting down, forcing us to bang on pots and pans while singing this song as we do it. I guess you've got to work to eat, even on turkey day.

But hey, there are some good and relatively unique tunes and covers out there that celebrate the holidays, whether you're into The Ramones or Burt Bacharach.

Here's a list off the top of my head of five solid holiday jams (I use the term loosely). Some are good because they're good--some are so bad they're good. Love 'em? Hate 'em? What are your picks?

I couldn't think of any good Hanukkah/Chanukah songs, Kwanzaa songs, or songs for pagan holidays like the winter solstice that are relatively contemporary. Your input is invited.

But hey, there are some good and relatively unique tunes and covers out there that celebrate the holidays, whether you're into The Ramones or Burt Bacharach. Here's a list off the top of my head of five solid holiday jams (I use the term loosely). Some are good because they're good--some are so bad they're good.

Love 'em? Hate 'em? What are your picks? I couldn't think of any good Hanukkah/Chanukah songs, Kwanzaa songs, or songs for pagan holidays like the winter solstice that are relatively contemporary.

"Step Into Christmas" Elton John.
There's not many dudes out there who are as genuinely cheery as Elton John. Somebody slipped some "holiday cheer" into this guy's Egg Nog for sure.

"Turkey Time" Hal David and Burt Bacharach.
This one gets nominated for kitsch factor. Can't you sort of imagine dancing around (like the girls in this video), just sort of randomly basting stuff in the kitchen? I can, and I don't even have a baster.

"Feliz Navi-Nada" El Vez.
Another excellent example of punk rockers stealing Christmas music and using it for their own twisted ends. I dare you to watch this video and to not wish you were at this show. The dude's red Elvis suit is simply fantastic.

"Put The Lights On The Tree" Sufjan Stevens.
Let's end it with a feel-good one, shall we?
Nobody does a tender holiday song like Sufjan. The video is cool, too.

Some topics we've already covered in our Turk-A-Thon that might be of interest: